The emergence and dissemination of whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses in Latin America - Brief review

The proliferation and rapid dissemination of whitefly-transmitted viruses o f important food and industrial crops in Latin America, have been the conse quence of drastic changes in traditional cropping systems. Some of the expa nding non-traditional cash and export crops, such as soybean and several ve getables, have served as suitable reproductive hosts for the whitefly Bemis ia tabaci. This insect pest has been shown to transmit at least 20 differen t geminiviruses that affect different commercial and basic food crops in La tin America. This review summarizes the existing knowledge on this importan t group of viruses and their vector in this region.